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Jos\u00e9 Neves leaves the helm of Farfetch, the global flagship of luxury e-commerce, to hand over the reins to the founder of Coupang. The South Korean group bought the platform last December, saving the company in extremis from bankruptcy thanks to a $500 million bridging loan, a fraction of its actual valuation. The emblematic executive is not leaving Farfetch altogether, however, and will continue in a consultancy role for the Coupang e-commerce giant, according to WWD.<\/p>\n
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His departure comes at a time when other Farfetch executives – including the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Product Officer, Chief Platform Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operations Officer – are planning to leave the company.<\/p>\n
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The end of the Neves era is signaled by a simple internal memo<\/strong> discovered on February 15<\/strong>, by staff from Farfetch’s new owner, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, according to which Jos\u00e9 Neves is stepping down as CEO while continuing his relationship with the platform as a consultant for the group.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Coupang spokesperson later told the press “After careful consideration, we have decided to streamline the business to enable us to operate from a position of financial strength<\/strong>“. It also says “this process has involved some difficult decisions, but ones that are necessary for our future success”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The memo states that Coupang CEO Bom Kim<\/strong> and a team of Farfetch executives will remain at the helm of the company during this period, while further redundancies are imminent.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is no doubt about the fate of serial entrepreneur and company founder Jos\u00e9 Neves<\/strong>, who has until now been CEO of the platform, but who will not yet be directly replaced.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Farfetch’s new management team has not only created an uproar among its executives, but also among its business partners.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of them have announced that they are severing their ties, or are about to do so<\/strong>. Such is the case of the Neiman Marcus group<\/strong>, which has already given up using Farfetch Platforms Solutions for its Bergdorf Goodman department store. Its proprietary e-commerce software also counts Harrods, Chanel and Thom Browne among its prominent customers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kering<\/strong> is also terminating its contract with Farfetch for listing and shipping orders from its warehouses. The group then intends to gradually withdraw its brands during the second quarter of the year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\tPartners on the move<\/h2>\n
A (too) ambitious vision<\/h2>\n